Over 3 million people trust Angie's List to help make the right choice

Be informed to avoid costly mistakes

Shop with us to ensure a fair price

Our complaint resolution team will help if a project goes bad

+See Verified Local Reviews

Over 293 reviews forWichita Septic Tank Services from people just like you.

A

"I can't say enough good things about

Pumps.

was timely, efficient and his estimate was spot on. If I had" ...More a question, he answered it. Our well pump was 460 feet down and he brought up the malfunctioning one and put a new one down in the same day.
Outside of the immense amount of labor involved in doing a well pump -

has impressive knowledge of pumps and water softener systems and how they work. You know it's fixed right the first time.

-David B.

F

"and was told that the septic system maintenance and pumping are handled by two different departments would have to be checked out for $85 by the maintenance department" ...More before I could schedule a pumping. Told me that ALL septic systems should have a contract on them. Well, ours doesn't and never has. Called my neighbor and asked her, and she said she never had a contract either. Unpleasant phone call. Would not use.

Local Articles in Wichita

Septic systems are commonly used in rural areas and sometimes in areas not served by a municipal sewage system. Septic systems absorb household sewage and distribute the liquid waste into a designated leach field where natural processes can reclaim it. However, solid wastes and grease must be pumped out of the septic system periodically.

Angie's Answers

In almost all areas, you have to get a permit from the county or city to rebuild a septic tank or leach field - permit cost typically $150-600, though can reach $2000 in some areas for a new installation. The reason is they will then come out and inspect the installation and review the test results from the civil engineer, from whom a design and soil percolation test and construction inspection report will be required before they issue an operating permit.

If you have a question on the process, the county or city most likely has a permit requirements info sheet on their website describing the process and requirements - googel your locale name combined with a search phrase like this - leach field test

The real reason a permit is required is to be sure an engineer designs the field, that the leach field is designed to match the existing soil conditions, and that it is built to the design so hopefully it will neither break through to the surface, contaminate the groundwater, nor contaminate nearby wells or waterways, thereby creating a public nuisance and health hazard.

The reason for the initial presale infiltration capacity test you had done is to provide some assurance to the buyer that the system is likely to work as needed, at least for the forseeable future, and is based on the number of bedrooms and sometimes number of bathrooms in the house as the basis for estimating the "load" the system is likely to see. There are different tests in different locales - some use a minimal criteria of 3 or 4 gpm flow for 20 minutes, other use the more common design guide of 150gpd (gallons per day) per bedroom in the house- some prorated for a 1 hour period, some far more strict by requiring a 24 hour test. 300 gallons in 45 minutes is an extremely stringent criteria - I would check with the buyilding department that this is right, because this adds up to a rate of 9600 gallon sper day - of about 64 bedrooms worth of capacity ! I am sure I have never ever seen that strict a criteria for a residential (as opposed to resort/ hotel/ commercial) septic system, so I would check that the tester did not somewhere add a zero to the volume to be pumped or something.

Also, returning water is not a viable basis for failing the test - the proper way to conduct a test is to pump the specified amount of water, and verify that the water level at the discharge pipe has returned to the original level by the end of the specified time - usually to the invert (bottom) of the pipe, but generally a conditional or "warning" approval will be given to one that does not raise the water table above the top of the 4" discharge pipe during the test time. You might discuss this with the civil engineer before going ahead with a new leach field construction - to me it sounds like the test may have been rigged to fail,, because in-service leach fields would not take 300 gallons of water without raising the water level to the top of the pipe for a period, even though they could take that flow for an extended period ot time.

I would guess that the wrong term was used to describe your problem. What was probably meant was that the leach field was saturated. This is to say that the soil around your leach field is saturated with solids from the septic tank and you may have to have it replaced. If you do not have the tank pumped often enough this can happen as well as just aging of the system. Many people ignore the septic till there is a problem do to out of sight out of mind or the false belief they are saving money. If you have a large family you may have to have the tank pumped every 2 or three years. Some of the towns around here have passed laws to that effect to avoid such problems.

There should be no growth other than grass on your leach field - for brush, bushes or trees use the kill-all Roundup herbicide to kill off the entire plant. For roots intruding from outside the leach field, use a root killer like RootX once or twice a year - I would do two treatments a month apart initially if you have root problems.
Unfortunately, just killing the roots is not going to solve the problem you currently have, because they decay extremely slowly or not at all in a leach field due to the saturated and greasy conditions - they are almost embalmed in the sludge. If you have a significant problem, you may have to kill them, then get them routed out. This can be a $500-1000 job depending on how your field is designed and how accessible the inlets of the field distribution pipes are.

Septic Tank Cleaning reviews in Wichita

A

Rating

“

Wow! Great Service!

was absolutely incredible! Not only was he professional and punctual but informative and compassionate! Having sewage in your basement is Not a fun situation!

installed a great product! It was a pleasure to work with him! Having only owned my home for a couple months it was indeed a ...More sigh of relief to have a good company and people service my home! Thank you

Service! ”

- Michelle M.

A

Rating

“

I was originally told they could not get to us for another week. Within the next hour our septic began to back up into our drains. I called back and spoke with

who was wonderful and sent someone out within the hour. It was pouring rain and storming but the great man who did the pumping stayed out in that rain and did a wonderful ...More job. We were told also that our Brush filter needed to be replaced which they did at the same time. Everyone we dealt with was very professional but very understanding and caring. I would absolutely deal with Ed

again and advise anyone who needs that service to do the same. You won't be disappointed.

”

- Marty B.

A

Rating

“

We hired

to pump our septic tank after reading the reviews here. They did a great job. Our tank was completely full before we called. They showed up, pumped it out, talked to us about do's and

'ts of septic tanks, and finished up the job. We were surprised at how fast they got the job done. ...More They were friendly and professional.”

- John D.

A

Rating

“

Fantastic service.

was prompt and friendly in all her communications. She was courteous and understanding when we experienced an unexpected scheduling change, and they were able to accommodate us on very short notice when we regained access to the property for inspection.
The inspection went smoothly and we received ...More a detailed report of all activities completed, delivered when promised. We learned that there is a 2nd cesspool on the property, something our seller never mentioned.
We definitely plan to use them in the future if and when the need arises. ”

- Grete E.

F

Rating

“

They pumped out the septic tank but then told us we needed a new drain field on one of them and that if we hired him on the weekend we wouldn't have to go through the company and it would be cheaper; $2,500 vs the companies $5,000! Not a reputable company at all! ”

- INEZ G.

A

Rating

“

got back to me quickly after initial phone call was placed and squeezed an appointment in for us last minute (on our end). Him and his crew were out there on time and conducted themselves professionally. Last minute work scheduling changed forced me to have a family member attend the work instead of myself, and they gained two ...More customers instead of one for it. Very appreciative of the work and how they handled themselves.
Very glad we chose them for this and we would definitely use them in the future.”

- Howard B.

A

Rating

“

They came out to the house and were able to determine that the filter
was clogged in the second stage of the septic tank preventing the water
from flowing to the drain field. They pumped the tank, cleaned the
filter and were on their way. This is the second time I've used them
and they are always

Awesome Service! Sellers have been serving my septic systems (home & rental properties) for 15 years. Over the years, Sellers have performed many pump outs, installed a new septic tank, installed new drain field, installed a new pump system and added an alarm system to alert me my septic tank is not functioning property. In 2009, my 2 year ...More old pump system failed (installed by builder's plumber when house was built in 2007) and I experienced 1st hand how disgusting it is for your septic system to back up in your house...sewage came shooting out of the tub drain! Sellers installed a new reliable pump system and also installed a pump alarm. IF YOU MUST HAVE A PUMP SYSTEM FOR YOUR SEPTIC TANK, IT'S WELL WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY TO INSTALL AN ALARM TO ALERT YOU WHEN YOUR SEPTIC SYSTEM IS NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY - I THINK I MAY HAVE SPENT AN EXTRA FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS!
”